The first stages of the curriculum give you a strong understanding of veterinary medicine and the responsibilities you will encounter working in an animal health career as a veterinary assistant. Once your foundation has been established, you will be given the opportunity to work in an actual animal hospital setting. You will work closely with veterinarians and other veterinary personnel to gain real life experience as you move closer to launching your new animal career.
What makes ABC stand out from other veterinary assistant schools? When you choose to enroll in ABC's unique Veterinary Assistant Program of study, you can keep your present job while completing your vet assistant training.
The ABC Veterinary Assistant Program brings the classroom to your living room and neighborhood, which means no added expense will be incurred for housing at a distant vet college and no time will be wasted with commuting back and forth to campus every day.
You can study around your current work or school schedule making this program a custom fit. With this flexibility you can complete the program in as little as 50 weeks, however, the maximum time allotted for program completion is a generous 75 weeks.
Here is a brief overview of the ABC Certified Veterinary Assistant Training Curriculum
Stage 1 -
OFFICE ETIQUETTE AND HOSPITAL PROCEDURES
- 28 Days (5.33 units)
In this stage, you will be taught effective client communication skills, learn the do’s and don’ts of admitting and discharging patients, and develop a complete appreciation for the importance of the human/animal bond. You will acquire a thorough understanding of the role of each member of the veterinary team, including the veterinarian, veterinary assistant, veterinary technician and all other animal hospital staff while learning the professional ethics of this occupation. Additionally, this stage covers the handling of medical records and certificates, inventory and restocking procedures, as well as the computer skills needed in a veterinarian’s office. You will also become proficient with safety measures and precautions, while obtaining rudimentary knowledge of veterinary laws and legalities.
Stage 2 -
ANIMAL RESTRAINT
- 21 Days (5.33 units)
In this stage, the fundamentals and the fine points of animal restraint will be addressed. You will be given an in-depth explanation of ropes and knots as they pertain to animal restraint, and be educated on the differences of various forms of physical and psychological restraint techniques. You will learn the proper placement and removal of different animals from enclosures, the handling of fractious patients, restraint methods during the physical examination and the administration of injections and venipuncture, and how to properly open a patient’s mouth. This stage also covers the proper positioning protocols for different animals and the standard veterinary terminology for each of these positions.
Stage 3 - EXAMINATION ROOM PROCEDURES
- 21 Days (5.33 units)
In this stage, examination room protocol will be covered. You will learn basic examination room preparation, and patient background and physical examination procedures. Highlights of this portion of the stage will include general cleaning and disinfecting, obtaining and documenting the patient’s history, which includes a history of their chief complaint, and a complete medical and environmental history. This stage also prepares you to perform physical examinations by learning to record observations, test and monitor vital signs, and determine the patient’s weight, respiratory rate, and temperature. You will also develop an understanding of vaccination protocols, bandaging, parasites, anesthetics, spaying and neutering, permanent identification, euthanasia and emergency support.
Stage 4 -
PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY
- 7 Days (2.67 Units)
In this stage, the use of pharmaceuticals in a veterinary office will be addressed. Detailed information pertaining to the legal issues in drug handling, specifically the proper prescription labeling and packaging of medications, the correct way to store biological and therapeutic agents, and the efficient performance of inventory control will be included. You will be taught to recognize general types and groups of drugs and the difference between prescription and over-the-counter medications. You will also learn the proper routes and methods of drug and vaccine administration as well as proper terminology.
Stage 5 -
SURGICAL PREPARATION AND ASSISTING
- 35 Days (6.00 Units)
In this stage, you will learn the skills every veterinary assistant should master in order to best serve the animal hospital staff before, during and after a surgical procedure. This section provides detailed information on the preparation of surgical equipment and supplies, the appropriate sterilization methods for instruments and supplies, and the identification of common instruments and suture materials, both types and sizes. You will also be given explicit instruction on how to assist with the preparation of patients using aseptic techniques, how to operate and maintain autoclaves, and assist with positioning of surgical patients while maintaining proper operating room conduct and asepsis. Other critical components of this section include the understanding of operating room sanitation and care protocol, performing post-surgical clean up of animals and equipment, proper storage of surgical gowns and drapes, and the identification and appropriate care of common surgical equipment and supplies along with the proper disposition of hazardous medical wastes.
Stage 6 -
SMALL ANIMAL NURSING
- 42 Days (10.67 units)
In this stage, you will be taught the fundamentals of small animal nursing. This stage is richly informative and will provide you with the essential tools needed to properly nurture the animals in your care. This stage focuses on the skills needed to identify different breeds of dogs and cats, recognize normal and abnormal behavior in dogs and cats, identify common diseases and medical conditions, and properly care for the hospitalized patient in your charge. The essentials of patient housing, including environmental considerations, feeding and watering, socialization and exercise will also be addressed. Preventative care such as grooming, ear cleaning, nail trimming, bathing and dipping, along with dental hygiene will be covered as well. The prevention of nosocomial infections and zoonotic diseases and the delicate subject of euthanasia is all part of this very educational stage.
Stage 7 -
LABORATORY PROCEDURES
- 14 Days (8.00 units)
In this stage, you will acquire basic knowledge of laboratory procedures. Your studies will include recording laboratory results, identifying common external parasites, and developing venipuncture skills. You will learn how to collect voided urine samples, how to determine the physical properties of urine, how to collect fecal samples for parasitological exams and how to prepare fecal flotation solutions. Furthermore, you will be taught how to interpret the various samples and complete antibiotic sensitivity testing.
Stage 8 -
RADIOLOGY AND ULTRASOUND IMAGING
- 7 Days (8.00 units)
In this stage, you will be instructed on the proper techniques of radiology and ultrasound as a means of diagnoses. Positioning small and large patients, basic safety practices and techniques, and proper methods of equipment care will be explored. Also included are the methods of processing various data received from radiology and ultrasound to include quality control, film identification, and how to use automatic processing methods.
Stage 9 -
CAREER BUILDING
- 21 Days (5.33 units)
In this stage, the fundamentals of career building will be explored, as well as how to apply them to secure a position as an ABC Certified Veterinary Assistant. Special focus is placed on the job search, how to write resumes, compensation considerations, how to plan a productive job interview, and how to maintain job security. This stage also offers insight on how attitude affects your career, how to set yourself up to succeed, and the importance of financial planning and stability.
Stage 10 -
EXTERNSHIP
- Up to 20 Weeks (1.78 units)
Upon reaching Stage 10, you will have the unique opportunity to reinforce your studies by practicing what you have learned in an animal hospital setting. Unlike other programs that generally charge in excess of $9,000 for a hands-on program, we include this rewarding and educational experience at a fraction of the cost as an essential part of the ABC learning experience. We believe that a hands-on component will provide each student with a better understanding and working knowledge of what is expected of a veterinary assistant in the working world.
As a student, you will be evaluated on your aptitude for performing the tasks expected of a veterinary assistant. This stage allows you the opportunity to put what you have learned into practice. The externship consists of 80 hours of unpaid work experience which combines preparing patients and assisting the veterinarian and other veterinary personnel.
Stage 11 -
GRADUATION
- 16 Days (3.33 units)
The Final Exam is given once your course work and externship have been successfully completed. You will review all of the material presented in the previous stages to prepare for the final. This review time is allotted for you to re-read and study the various concepts that have been taught. The Final Exam is designed to test your overall knowledge of skills required to become a veterinary assistant and will cover all areas of the curriculum.
If you have additional questions about our Certified Veterinary Assistant Program, please feel free to contact us.
Veterinarian College
